
Black plate (22,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
10-22 Vehicle Care
Engine Overheating
The vehicle has an indicator to warn
of engine overheating. There is an
engine coolant temperature warning
light on the vehicle's instrument
panel. SeeEngine Coolant
Temperature Gauge on page 5‑11.
The decision may be made not to lift
the hood when this warning
appears, but instead get service
help right away. See Roadside
Assistance Program on page 13‑6.
If the decision to lift the hood is
made, make sure the vehicle is
parked on a level surface. Then check to see if the engine
cooling fan(s) are running. If the
engine is overheating, the fan(s)
should be running. If they are not,
do not continue to run the engine
and have the vehicle serviced.
Notice:
Engine damage from
running the engine without
coolant is not covered by the
warranty.
If Steam is Coming from the
Engine Compartment
{WARNING
Steam from an overheated engine
can burn you badly, even if you
just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear
steam coming from it. Just turn it
off and get everyone away from
the vehicle until it cools down.
Wait until there is no sign of
steam or coolant before you
open the hood.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
If you keep driving when your
engine is overheated, the liquids
in it can catch fire. You or others
could be badly burned. Stop your
engine if it overheats, and get out
of the vehicle until the engine
is cool.
If No Steam is Coming from
the Engine Compartment
If an engine overheat warning is
displayed but no steam can be seen
or heard, the problem may not be
too serious. Sometimes the engine
can get a little too hot when the
vehicle:
.Climbs a long hill on a hot day
.Stops after high-speed driving
.Idles for long periods in traffic
.Tows a trailer

Black plate (25,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-25
Notice:
.When using concentrated
washer fluid, follow the
manufacturer's instructions
for adding water.
.Do not mix water with
ready-to-use washer fluid.
Water can cause the solution
to freeze and damage the
washer fluid tank and other
parts of the washer system.
Also, water does not clean as
well as washer fluid.
.Fill the washer fluid tank only
three-quarters full when it is
very cold. This allows for
fluid expansion if freezing
occurs, which could damage
the tank if it is
completely full.
.Do not use engine coolant
(antifreeze) in the windshield
washer. It can damage the
windshield washer system
and paint.
Brakes
This vehicle has disc brakes.
Disc brake pads have built-in wear
indicators that make a high-pitched
warning sound when the brake pads
are worn and new pads are needed.
The sound can come and go or be
heard all the time the vehicle is
moving, except when applying the
brake pedal firmly.
{WARNING
The brake wear warning sound
means that soon the brakes will
not work well. That could lead to
a crash. When the brake wear
warning sound is heard, have the
vehicle serviced.
Notice: Continuing to drive with
worn-out brake pads could result
in costly brake repair. Some driving conditions or climates
can cause a brake squeal when the
brakes are first applied or lightly
applied. This does not mean
something is wrong with the brakes.
Properly torqued wheel nuts are
necessary to help prevent brake
pulsation. When tires are rotated,
inspect brake pads for wear and
evenly tighten wheel nuts in the
proper sequence to torque
specifications in
Capacities and
Specifications on page 12‑2.
Brake linings should always be
replaced as complete axle sets.
Brake Pedal Travel
See your dealer if the brake pedal
does not return to normal height,
or if there is a rapid increase in
pedal travel. This could be a sign
that brake service might be
required.

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
F
FeaturesMemory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Filter Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-3
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Flat Tire, Changing . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-92
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-15
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Fog Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . 10-36, 6-3
Front Fog Lamps Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Front Seats
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Economy Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20 Fuel (cont.)
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-54
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-54
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-21
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-54
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Fuel Economy Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39 Engine Compartment
Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
G
GasolineSpecifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Gauges Engine CoolantTemperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10 Gauges (cont.)
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Warning Lights and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
H
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
HeadlampsAiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-7
Lights (cont.)StabiliTrak®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Locks Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-21
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
SYSTEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluids andLubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-6
Scheduled Maintenance . . . . . . 11-2
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-14
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Mass Storage Media (MEM) . . . 7-24
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Messages Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . 5-31
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-27 Messages (cont.)
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-29
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Service Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Mirrors
Automatic DimmingRearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-54
Multi-Band Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18

Black plate (12,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
i-12 INDEX
V
VehicleCanadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
IdentificationNumber (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Reminder Messages . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-82
Vehicle Care Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-53
Vehicle Identification
Service Parts IdentificationLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Wheels Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-64
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . 3-50 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 10-31
Wipers Rear Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5